JPEG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF: which image format should you ship?

Quick answer

Choose the format based on the asset type and delivery goal, not on a generic “best image format” claim.

Format	Best for	Strength	Tradeoff
JPEG	Photos and dense screenshots without transparency	Familiar and widely supported	Softer edges and no transparency
PNG	UI captures, diagrams, and transparency	Sharp edges and lossless output	Usually heavier than modern delivery formats
WebP	General-purpose modern web delivery	Strong size-to-quality ratio	Not every legacy workflow expects it
AVIF	Aggressive modern delivery for photos and marketing art	Excellent compression efficiency	Encode/decode support and workflow compatibility need checking
SVG	Icons, logos, and vector illustrations	Infinite scaling and code-level optimization	Not suitable for photo-like raster imagery

Use JPEG when

• The image is photo-heavy.
• Transparency is not needed.
• The priority is broad compatibility with simple export workflows.

JPEG is still a practical default for many source assets, especially before a second optimization pass.

Use PNG when

• You need transparency.
• The asset is a UI screenshot, diagram, or flat graphic with hard edges.
• You need lossless output during editing or review.

PNG is often the right working format even when it is not the best delivery format.

Use WebP when

• You want a strong default for production web delivery.
• You are exporting final assets for real pages, not just drafts.
• You want better compression than many JPEG and PNG outputs without changing the workflow too much.

Use AVIF when

• The final asset is shipping to modern browsers.
• You are chasing smaller image payloads on marketing or content-heavy pages.
• You can validate that the consuming surface accepts AVIF cleanly.

AVIF is a delivery optimization, not a universal source-of-truth format. Keep an eye on the environments that still expect PNG, JPEG, or WebP.

Use SVG when

• The asset is vector by nature.
• You want the browser to scale the artwork without raster blur.
• The best optimization path is removing unnecessary code, not recompressing pixels.

A practical workflow

1. Decide whether the asset is raster or vector first.
2. Preserve a working file in the format that keeps editing safe.
3. Export a delivery format based on the real page or channel.
4. Check the result at the actual render size before shipping.

For raster assets, start in the Image Compressor. For vector cleanup, use the SVG Optimizer. If the deliverable is a site icon package rather than a single asset, finish in the Favicon Generator.